


The best of men

by Linisen



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Best man Chris, Canon Compliant, Christophe Giacometti & Victor Nikiforov Are Best Friends, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, pre Victuuri wedding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:01:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24422431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linisen/pseuds/Linisen
Summary: Chris had never before seen Victor Nikiforov fret in his entire life, and he had no idea what to do about it. He had been given the honor of being Victor’s best man, and right now he was stumped at what to do. He had tried giving Victor the opportunity to settle himself, or to start a conversation about what was bothering him, but Victor was unusually silent. He paced back and forth in the small room, and after the twentieth lap Chris decided that it was time to intervene.Or: Victor is nervous before his and Yuuri’s wedding, and Chris calms him down.
Relationships: Christophe Giacometti & Victor Nikiforov, Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Comments: 43
Kudos: 233





	The best of men

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thewalrus_said](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewalrus_said/gifts).



> For the absolutely wonderful Tess, happy birthday <3\. 
> 
> beta read by [raedear](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raedear/pseuds/raedear)

Chris had seen many expressions cross Victor Nikiforov’s face in the span of their decade long friendship. He knew the happy bubbly teenager he looked up to, like the rest of the junior circuit did, bright blue eyes and smile already practiced. He knew drunk, sloppy Victor after too much vodka, celebrating both of them making the podium in Stockholm. He knew the serious expression that fell over Victor’s features during competitions, concentration high and focused on winning; on surprising the audience. He was familiar, like everyone else, with his performance expressions, ranging from sweet to flirty, from sad to joyous, mesmerising the crowd with their intensity. There had been a constant range of emotions through the first years of their friendship, and Chris was so familiar with them that he didn’t notice at first as they changed. 

He got used to the expression of a friend who slowly hollowed out, void of any emotions, no matter how much Chris tried to pull him out of the shell he had retreated into. They trained so far apart, and lived demanding, high paced lives. It became hard to keep in regular contact, and Chris got to see one of his best friends turn more and more distant and cold each time they met, a plastered smile on Victor’s face as they greeted each other. 

Then, everything changed.

It was such a monumental change that Chris only noticed _how_ void of emotions Victor had been when Katsuki Yuuri threw himself around his neck, begging him to be his coach from under those long lashes, doe-eyed and blushing. It was a wonderful thing to see Victor turn human again, full of life and inspiration — joy even. Chris had let out a sigh of relief for his friend, only to see Victor’s good mood and happy expressions plummet into emptiness again as Katsuki Yuuri fell off the face of the earth after Japanese Nationals. A flicker of excitement and determination gleamed in Victor’s eyes when Chris called him after the Stammi Vicino video went viral, and Chris held his breath, hoping for the best. 

Victor left to chase his heart to Hasetsu, and since then Chris had the pleasure of seeing Victor come alive once more, smile heart-shaped, eyes gleaming, and to stay that way. 

Now was another matter entirely, because Victor was fretting. Chris had never seen Victor Nikiforov fret in his entire life, and he had no idea what to do about it. He had been given the honor of being Victor’s best man, and right now he was stumped at what to do. He had tried giving Victor the opportunity to settle himself, or to start a conversation about what was bothering him, but Victor was unusually silent. He paced back and forth in the small room, and after the twentieth lap Chris decided that it was time to intervene. 

“Are you walking a hole in the floor?” he asked, and Victor looked over at him with wide eyes, and then down at his feet as he slowed, as if he hadn't even noticed he had been moving. A shaky breath left his lips, and Chris stood from his chair with a frown, approaching his friend. “Why are you wearing out the carpet?”

“What if I can’t make him happy Chris?” 

Victor’s voice was small, and he didn’t look up from his feet, eyes trained on the floor. The question was so insane it made Chris pause, eyes wide and blinking in surprise as he took in Victor’s distressed expression. He looked impeccable in his tuxedo, hair styled perfectly, make up on point, but since Chris knew Victor’s expressions so well, he could see the fear in his eyes as he looked up to meet Chris’ gaze. 

“Hey,” he said softly, walking up to Victor to place his hands on his shoulders. Victor startled from the contact as his eyes grew wide, his shoulders slowly lowering from where they had been pulled up near his ears. “I don’t think anyone in this world can make Yuuri happier than you.” Chris meant it too. It had been hard in the beginning to imagine how his best friend and the quiet-kept-to-himself-Japan's-Ace could fit so well together, but oh how they did. Chris had understood it from the first time he got to see them together in person when they were both sober, both jetlagged and leaning on each other as they waited in line to check in at the hotel before the Cup of China. Yuuri had been leaning heavily on Victor, tired but content in a way Chris had never seen before, and Victor had looked so settled that it had made a smile break out on Chris' face at the sight. He hadn’t approached them then, but let them stay in their small bubble, deciding to talk to them the next day at the arena instead. 

“What if I’m too much Chris?” Victor asked, voice trembling “You know how overbearing and how loud and how much I can be, always pushing forward, never able to just be still and what if-”

“Stop,” Chris interrupted, and Victor did, teeth clacking together as he took a deep breath through his nose. “Yuuri knows you. You’ve been together for over two years now. He was like a walking Victor Nikiforov wikipedia-page before you even met, and now I don’t think anyone knows the real you like he does. You’ll make him so happy Victor. I know it.”

“I’m so nervous,” Victor said with a stuttering breath, and Chris could feel the tension in Victor’s body under his hands. “I love him so much Chris. I can’t be without him.”

“Okay,” Chris said slowly, trying to figure out what to do, how to calm the situation. This was why he was here wasn’t it? “Okay, close your eyes.”

Victor looked at him sceptically, but took a deep breath and did as he was told. Chris rolled his own shoulders, hands still clasping Victor's. They had to go soon, someone would come get them, and he needed to act fast. 

“Think about all the wonderful things that you and Yuuri will do in the years to come,” he started slowly. “I know this is so scary now, but soon you’ll walk out that door and you will see Yuuri, and he will be so beautiful your knees will go a little weak — though we both know that happens on a daily basis so it’s nothing new. Then you’ll go up there to meet him, and for the rest of the day you can be close to him the entire time. No one will even bat an eye if you plaster yourself to him like you usually do. You’re going to eat, and laugh, and cry and dance, and he’ll dip you like he did at the banquet, and you will know that none of this is too much for him.” Victor was breathing slower now, but his shoulders were still stiff, and Chris squeezed them, trying to massage the tension out as he continued.

“Afterwards you will be too tired to do much of anything, maybe a lazy handjob, but tomorrow he’ll rock your world in the wedding suite bed. All the days after that you will wake up together, and you will go to the Ice Castle, and you’ll open a skating school or something, and coach the triplets to the Grand Prix series, and all the other kids in Hasetsu too. You’ll adopt five kids, or five dogs, or five of each and Makka will take care of all of them with you, and you will both be so happy.” 

Victor laughed wetly, and Chris stopped, cursing himself as Victor opened damp eyes. He smiled though, and Chris’ heart calmed slightly, even if it was still beating a little hard from the fear of having made things worse.

“That sounds like a dream,” Victor said, voice still shaky but his expression seeming much more relaxed now, happy, even as tears threatened to spill over his cheeks. “I want all of that so much.”

“I didn’t mean to make you cry,” Chris sighed but smiled, and Victor fell forward to his chest, wrapping his arms around Chris’ waist. They hugged tightly for a moment, before Victor stepped back and smiled at him. 

“Thank you,” he said, and he looked much calmer. Chris patted himself on the back for a job well done. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“Shaved your hair off or something crazy like that,” Chris joked, and they both laughed, interrupted only by a knock on the door. It opened slowly, and Yuuko peeked in, smiling widely as she spotted them. 

“Are you ready?” she asked, and Chris looked back at Victor who smiled at her, and then at Chris. 

“Ready?” Chris asked too, and offered his arm. Victor laughed again and took it, and Yuuko opened the door even further for them. Victor didn’t really have any family, and even if Yakov was the closest thing he had ever had to a parent, he was hardly a father figure. Instead, Chris had offered to give Victor away. Not that he was his to give, but more for someone to lean on when walking to meet Yuuri, in case his knees did buckle a little more than usual. 

“Ready,” Victor agreed with a smile, and then they walked towards the door and the rest of Victor’s life. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think in the comment section or on other platforms like:  
> [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/linisen) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/mjaoue)


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